‘Enviro nut’ Mark McKinney talks the Earth Day Canada Gala

If every networking opportunity was held at Toronto’s Drake Hotel, featured bands like The Sadies and had a comedian hosting, there’s no doubt the turnout would be higher.

But not every opportunity to celebrate and schmooze can be the eighth annual Earth Day Canada Gala, where environmentalists and others involved in the cause can get together to raise money for green events and projects in the future.

Comedian Mark McKinney, best known as a member of Toronto’s Kids in the Hall, got involved with Earth Day years ago when he was asked to host the gala. McKinney now holds what he describes as a more “advisory, sort of producery role.”

“I’d sort of been a little bit of an enviro nut — not nut; nut’s the wrong word, sorry – I’d been environmentally sensitive since high school because I had a Grade 11 biology teacher who was ahead of the curve on all the stuff,” McKinney says. “You know, recycling, sustainability and all that sort of stuff. So it was just a natural fit for me.”

It helped, of course, that he’s a comedian. Not because Earth Day isn’t a serious organization – quite the opposite, as the majority of their work is in creating awareness and educating the public – but because comedians are a natural fit for hosting these sorts of things.

“You have to get the attention of a large amount of people,” McKinney says. “You want to keep it light. And also, comedians are kind of brazen in the way that they will ask for attention and keep things moving in a way that a polite society lady in her Chanel dress and her fake — sorry, sorry, I started to rant there man, that wasn’t cool, I’m kidding.”

After McKinney gave up the hosting mic, he passed it to Newfoundland comedian Shaun Majumder, who then handed it off to Toronto comic Seán Cullen, back this year for his second kick at the gala can.

“Seán is really good,” McKinney says. “He was hysterically funny last year. He’s really, really good at this kind of thing, so I’ve sort of achieved redundancy.”

The Earth Day Canada Gala will be held June 8 at Toronto’s Drake Hotel. Tickets are $250. For more information, visitearthday.ca/gala.